HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Just the Ticket'' is a 1998 film directed by
Richard Wenk Richard Wenk (born 1956) is an American film screenwriter and director best known for his work on ''The Expendables 2'' (2012), ''The Equalizer'' (2014), and '' The Magnificent Seven'' (2016). Early life Wenk was born in 1956 in Metuchen, New ...
. It stars
Andy García Andrés Arturo García Menéndez (born April 12, 1956), known professionally as Andy García, is a Cuban-born American actor, director and musician. He first rose to prominence acting in Brian De Palma's '' The Untouchables'' (1987) alongsi ...
and
Andie MacDowell Rosalie Anderson MacDowell (born April 21, 1958) is an American actress and former fashion model. MacDowell's known for her starring film roles in romantic comedies and dramas. MacDowell has modeled for Calvin Klein and has been a spokeswoman ...
. Garcia was also the producer. The film was originally titled ''A Piece of Cake''.


Plot

Gary Starke (Garcia), desperate to get his girlfriend Linda (MacDowell) back, goes to confession to seek guidance but doesn't get the help he seeks. He is a NYC ticket scalper who "works the street". Linda won't take his calls, so Gary shows up at her sales job. He earns a dinner date with her by selling a 60 inch TV to someone who was only window-shopping. Gary plans to make one last big score, to win Linda back and straighten out his life. Believing his chance rests on an opportunity to scalp a large stack of tickets to see the
Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
at
Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...
. Gary comes against 'Casino', a FL scalper who undercuts him. Meanwhile, at Linda's culinary course a
NYT ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
food critic asks her to cater an upscale dinner party after trying her dish. So, instead of their date, Gary jumps in to help. She's way underpaid for the meal at the upperclass party, so they retaliate by ruining the dishes. That evening, they spend the night together. The next day Gary is off seeking Pope tickets. He and the other scalpers get thrown in jail. While there, he tells them his lookout Benny Moran, used to be in the corner for boxing champion Joe Frazier. When Gary is released, he hurries to Linda's, only to meet Alan, an exterminator and her new boyfriend. He listens to advice from pregnant, ex drug addict 'Cyclops', to try to get a social security number. Unfortunately he can't without a birth certificate. Gary finds Max offering 200 tickets for 5,000 if he can get it for Saturday. So he works hard scalping Broadway tickets. Caught by undercover cops, Casino helps out, warning that it's a one-time deal as it's his turf now and most everyone works for him. Sitting opposite Linda's building, she comes out to tell Gary she's leaving for culinary school in Paris in three weeks. After some finagling, he buys the tickets to scalp, although warned about Max. Linda's large family throws her a congratulatory party, a combined birthday and going away to culinary school celebration. Gary is warmly welcomed by everyone, and is quietly told she dumped the exterminator. They soon find out he has provided a film montage of loving moments between them. Linda walks out mid-projection, with Gary following with a non-going away present, their trophy for best couple at a picnic. He again tries talking about his plans for them. Admitting she has loved him completely for years, but his many fantasies have never come through, so she needs to focus on the future. In the city, Benny talks with Linda. He tells her that Gary has been intently working on something, and asks her to swear to do something for him. Then we see Gary in a realtor's cutting a deal on a two year lease. Afterwards, seeking out Benny who was with his dog, he has passed. At Benny's small funeral, Frazier comes to pay his respects, shocking the guys, as they hadn't believed he'd worked with him. Linda has also come, she tells Gary Benny had asked her to promise to say yes to anything Gary asks. So he requests she be at an address at 9 a.m. on Monday. Arriving home Gary finds Cyclops, who warns him that the tickets Max sold him were taken from a church, and the cops are looking for him. On the day of the Pope's address, dressed as a nun, Gary keeps the tickets and money in a hollowed out bible. Casino snitches on him, and although he transforms into a priest, he is caught. The evidence is lost in the scuffle. As the scalping money is gone, Gary's not at the 9 a.m. appointment at the premises. An insurance rep appears on his doorstep instead with a 56,000 payment from Benny's life insurance policy as well as his birth certificate. Gary sets up the lease, fully stocking it with dishes etc. Discovering Linda's at her mom's, he gets her to detour her airport taxi to the premises. Entering, she sees the signed lease and his social security card. Months later, we see the couple happily operating a thriving restaurant.


Cast

*
Andy Garcia Andy may refer to: People *Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds *Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and piano ...
as Gary Starke *
Andie MacDowell Rosalie Anderson MacDowell (born April 21, 1958) is an American actress and former fashion model. MacDowell's known for her starring film roles in romantic comedies and dramas. MacDowell has modeled for Calvin Klein and has been a spokeswoman ...
as Linda Palinski * Richard Bradford as Benny Moran *
Alice Drummond Alice Elizabeth Drummond (née Ruyter, May 21, 1928 – November 30, 2016) was an American actress. A veteran Off-Broadway performer, she was nominated in 1970 for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance as Mrs ...
as Lady with Cash * Fred Asparagus as Zeus * Louis Mustillo as Harry the Head * Anita Elliott as Refund Lady at the Met * Patrick Breen as San Diego Vinnie * Laura Harris as Alice / 'Cyclops' *
Don Novello Donald Andrew Novello (born January 1, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, singer, writer, film director and producer. He is best known for his work on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1978 to 1980, and again from 1985 to 1986, often as the ...
as Tony * Ron Leibman as Barry the Book * Michael Willis as TV Customer *
Jack Cafferty Jack Cafferty (born December 14, 1942) is a former CNN commentator and occasional host of specials. In the summer of 2005, Cafferty joined '' The Situation Room''. He left CNN after November 15, 2012. Career Cafferty started his career in Reno, ...
as Newscaster *
Molly Wenk Molly, Mollie or mollies may refer to: Animals * ''Poecilia'', a genus of fishes ** ''Poecilia sphenops'', a fish species * A female mule (horse–donkey hybrid) People * Molly (name) or Mollie, a female given name, including a list of persons ...
as Catholic Schoolgirl Fanny *
Daniella Garcia-Lorido Danielle is a modern French female variant of the male name Daniel, meaning "God is my judge" in the Hebrew language. Variants *Dana – Czech, German, Romanian Polish *Danette – English *Daniela – Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, English, German, I ...
as Catholic Schoolgirl Lucy * Abe Vigoda as Arty * Andre B. Blake as Casino * Michael P. Moran as Fat Max *
Ronald Guttman Ronald Guttman (born 12 August 1952) is a Belgian actor, theatrical producer and film producer. Career Guttman was born in Uccle. He started appearing in French language productions in Europe in 1975, appearing in his first English-language film ...
as Culinary Director *
Helen Carey This is a comprehensive list of characters from the Channel 4 soap opera ''Brookside'' in alphabetical order by the character's surnames. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T V W Y {{Brookside ...
as Mrs. Bennett, ''New York Times'' Food Critic * Bobo Lewis as Mrs. Dolmatch * Paunita Nichols as Rhonda *
Irene Worth Irene Worth, CBE (June 23, 1916March 10, 2002) was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the British and American theatre. She pronounced her given name with three syllables: "I-REE-nee". Worth made her B ...
as Mrs. Haywood * Lenny Venito as Stanley *
Richard Wenk Richard Wenk (born 1956) is an American film screenwriter and director best known for his work on ''The Expendables 2'' (2012), ''The Equalizer'' (2014), and '' The Magnificent Seven'' (2016). Early life Wenk was born in 1956 in Metuchen, New ...
as Good Call Johnny D.J. * George Palermo as Undercover Cop * Anthony DeSando as Kenny Paliski *
Elizabeth Ashley Elizabeth Ann Cole, known professionally as Elizabeth Ashley (born August 30, 1939) is an American actress of theatre, film, and television. She has been nominated for three Tony Awards, winning once in 1962 for ''Take Her, She's Mine''. Ashley ...
as Mrs. Paliski * Sully Boyar as Uncle Tony *
Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011), nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. He was known for his strength, durability, formidable left hand, and relentless pressure ...
as Himself *
Alfredo Álvarez Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: *Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda Filho ...
Calderón as Yankee Stadium Security Chief * Eugene Greytak as The Pope (as Gene Greytak) *
Bill Irwin William Mills Irwin (born April 11, 1950) is an American actor, clown, and comedian. He began as a vaudeville-style stage performer and has been noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. He has made a nu ...
as Ray Charles


Reception

''Just the Ticket'' was poorly received by critics. It holds a rating of 23% on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
from 13 reviews.


See also

*
Ticket resale Ticket resale (also known as ticket scalping or ticket touting) is the act of reselling tickets for admission to events. Tickets are bought from licensed sellers and then sold for a price determined by the individual or company in possession of ...


References


External links

* * * {{Mojo title, justtheticket, Just the Ticket 1998 films 1998 romantic comedy films Films directed by Richard Wenk Films with screenplays by Richard Wenk American romantic comedy films United Artists films Films produced by Gary Lucchesi 1990s English-language films 1990s American films